Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition (18 page)

His hand landed on my thigh just as he hit a high note and I laughed, pushing my head back against the seat. I was beyond happy with Austin, words really couldn’t describe the euphoric high that I was on with him in my life, and in a little less than a month, he would be my husband. That seemed so weird to think, but I couldn’t wait.

Our drive passed by quickly with just two stops. We decided to stick pretty close to home but we picked a more touristy spot than our little speck on the map. I didn’t mind being in the car with Austin one bit, but I was ready to get our pre-honeymoon started. We didn’t get much time to relax, though, because as soon as we checked in at the hotel and brought our bags up to our room, he gave me ten minutes to get ready. He was pulling on my arm and directing me back to the car. I groaned as I re-buckled my seatbelt.

“We won’t be in the car long, I promise.”

“All right.” I pushed a smile on to my lips, staring out the window, taking in my new surroundings as they whizzed by. Before long, he pulled into a mostly empty parking lot across from a beach close to the edge of town. We both slipped off our shoes when we hit the sand and he ushered me over to a lone table that was set up near the tide, underneath a canopy strung with twinkling white lights. A basket was centered in the middle and Austin pulled out my chair, helping me sit down, before he started to unpack the contents and dish them out onto the waiting plates.

“How in the world did you plan this?” I asked, watching as he poured wine into our glasses. “This is amazing.”

A crooked smirk stretched over his face as he lit the candles that were wedged into the sand surrounding the canopy in a circle. I knew how sweet Austin could be, but this was beyond anything I had ever expected out of him. He pulled out his phone before sitting down, turning on some low music before scooping up my hand and pressing a kiss to my palm.

“I have my ways, but you don’t need to worry about that.”

We ended up staying on the beach for hours, long after the candles burned down and everyone lying on the sand or playing in the surf disappeared. Austin wrapped his arms around me, and we watched the waves crash and talked about our future well into the night. I couldn’t wait to get started with our forever after.

CHAPTER 6

Now

I blinked several times, my eyes readjusting to the darkness, and I groaned when I realized that it was still the middle of the night. I could only sleep for so long before my body fought with me and wouldn’t let me keep my eyes shut any longer. I pressed a finger to my still tingling lips before I rolled to my side, the thought of not being next to Austin and probably never seeing him or anyone else that I loved sitting heavy on my chest, making me gasp for air.

The panic attacks had gotten worse since he left me alone the other day. He hadn’t returned for lessons yet. Most of the time, I was able to get through my attacks, but once it was so bad that I knew I needed help. I banged on the bottom step with the palm of my hand as hard as I could. My vision blurred with blackness before he finally came down. In that moment, I wasn’t worried about what kind of punishment I would receive.

“What’s all that racket, whore?” he snapped before looking down at me. I swear, a look of concern flashed across his face before he stooped down, grabbing onto my wrist, and dragged me toward the toilet that sat in the corner and splashed some of the water from the bowl on my face. I sputtered as the water broke me from the haze, thankful that he had saved me. I still wanted to live.

Now, I wasn’t so sure.

My breathing began to slow, the weight on my chest lifting slightly, and I sat up as it slowly disintegrated. That one wasn’t so bad and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I was giving up and it would be easier if my time here would just end. I couldn’t take much more. Everything in me ached, and the only medicine I had was my dreams, though sometimes, they just made things worse.

Memories of what my life had been made me miss it even more. I’d never believed it before when I heard that people could die from a broken heart, but every day that I remained captive, I was starting to believe it possible.

I got up, stretching my legs, and walked back and forth, the concrete’s coolness stinging my feet urging me to quicken my pace. This was the only form of exercise I could get and I found it to be more of a struggle every day, some days I couldn’t even bring myself to do it. Lack of food, water, and sunlight would do that to a person.

I’m not sure how long I was walking before I noticed a sliver of sunlight peek through the window and heard footsteps above my head, and realized that they must be starting their day. Did they really just go on about their day like normal people, having their morning coffee and breakfast, talking about the weather and plans for the weekend, all while I was held prisoner in their basement? How did they carry on as if that were normal?

My feet stopped when the voices above me grew louder, and I craned my neck, trying to get a better listen. They were shouting and I heard mention of
The Whore
before a chair skidded and something thumped the floor above me. A door slammed, followed by the faint sound of crying.

I assumed it was
her,
or Ma’am to me. I didn’t know her as anything else. I couldn’t feel bad for her though, not even an ounce of me did. She had never shown any compassion for me and she certainly didn’t help me.

I drifted off into a daydream, something I often did to pass the time, collapsing onto the hard floor and crisscrossing my legs. I could only assume by the door slamming soundly that he was gone.

I started thinking about Austin again, how attentive and sweet he was, and then I began to wonder what he was doing. Was he still looking for me? A heavy weight settled in my stomach, worried about what kind of toll my disappearance took on him and my family. It wasn’t the first time and it probably wouldn’t be the last, but the thought of what they were going through too made me sick to my stomach.

I groaned, pressing my fingertips into my eyelids. I couldn’t think about that. The jiggle of the doorknob made my eyes pop open and I shot to my feet, going on high alert when I realized it was
her
not
him
. She rarely came down and the bowl she was holding in her hands made me even more suspicious.

“I brought this down for you.” She fidgeted slightly on her heels, causing her modest, apron-covered dress that she always wore to swish back and forth, before setting the bowl on the floor, the steam still rising from it. My nose went into overdrive, used to nothing but stale bread and water. Whatever was in there smelled better than anything I’d ever had in my life.

“Why?” I asked quietly and she stiffened, her nose turning up slightly as she tucked a piece of her graying hair back.

“Well, I had plenty of leftovers and figured you were hungry. I know he hasn’t been down here to feed you.” She pushed the bowl toward me, and I held my hands out, looking down at the contents. I couldn’t tell what it was but it looked like some kind of casserole. “Go ahead, eat up, girl. I’m not sure when he’ll be back.” She tapped her foot twice and I continued to stare at the bowl. Everything in my body was telling me to eat every scrap in that bowl, except for my brain. There was some nagging feeling, telling me that there was no way in hell she was being nice to me for no reason. I picked up the fork to poke at it and she huffed loudly. “Just eat it! You would think a malnourished person like yourself would be thankful, but no. Ungrateful is what you are!” She huffed one more time before turning back in the direction of the stairs. “I’ll be back to check on you and get the bowl, so finish it up quickly.”

I was still staring at the contents of the bowl when the door slammed, the lock clicking back into place, and I dropped the fork, the metal clanking against the white dish. I pushed the bowl back and forth across the floor where I had dropped down to sit. Something didn’t feel right about it and all of the different possibilities ran through my head, my mind settling on the most likely.

She was trying to poison me.

Now, I needed to decide if I wanted to eat or not.

Was I ready to give up? Would this be the easiest way? Was she actually helping me without even knowing that I was ready to end my time here the only way I knew how?

I slid the bowl closer, picking the fork back up to stir the contents before blowing on it. Why was I worried about a burnt mouth if I wouldn’t be here much longer anyway?

CHAPTER 7

Then

“
Emmy, come back to me. Please, come back to me
.”

I jolted awake to find Austin sitting next to me, his gaze trained on his phone. I rubbed at my eyes before glancing at the clock to see that I should really be getting ready before we went out for the night.

“Hey, baby, did you have a good nap?” His eyes flicked to mine before going back to his phone.

“Yeah.” I stretched my arms above my head, letting out a big yawn. “But someone just had to wake me up. Is there a reason I needed to come back to you? I was lying right here.” I playfully shoved him in the shoulder and he dropped his phone on the bed before turning back to me, his eyebrows twisted together.

“What are you talking about, Emmy? I haven’t said a word. I figured I would let you sleep since the sun drained you today.”

“Oh, I must’ve been dreaming or something then.” I pushed myself off the bed after dropping a kiss on his cheek. “I’m going to get ready and then we can go.”

I dug through my bag and found a white dress that I brought along because it wasn’t something I would normally wear. The dress hung around my neck by a single strap, leaving my back exposed, and it hugged every single one of my curves that sometimes I wasn’t so sure about, but Austin seemed to love them. I guess that was all that counted since he was my fiancé and all.

I fluffed my hair, deciding that I was going to go with the scrunchy, beachy look since I didn’t want to waste any time and then I smacked on some lip-gloss. I didn’t need much more since my cheeks were already glowing from all of the sun I had gotten.

Austin let out a deep whistle when I stepped out of the bathroom and into my wedge sandals. I would’ve done the same if I could actually whistle. His blond hair was gelled just the way I liked it, and he wore a pair of faded jeans hung low on his hips and a tight-fitted white shirt that played off his own tan nicely. He looked like my golden surfer boy.

“How in the hell did I get so lucky?”

“Ditto,” I said before he kissed the hell out of me, turning my legs to Jell-O, and making me not want to leave the hotel room.

We eventually did though and after stopping to grab something to eat, we headed to the downtown area where the street was lined with different nightclubs and bars. The nighttime scene was definitely different here than back home. I think both Austin and I were a little in awe but once we headed into the first club and Austin slid a few shots in my direction—inconspicuously since I was still underage—we started to loosen up. I dragged him onto the dance floor, shouting over the blaring music.

“You’re dancing with me tonight!” I demanded, hanging onto his hand so he wouldn’t run away from the dance floor. Austin hated dancing and normally wouldn’t even step foot into a club, but instead of arguing, he just grinned and let me drag him along, semi-moving as I danced in circles around him.

I laughed when he planted his hands on my hips to still them, bringing me flush against him, but all laughter ceased when he started to move to the music, grinding against me, and I pushed against him harder. He moved my hair to the side, licking a hot trail down the side of my neck before scraping his teeth against the skin. My eyes drifted shut, my hips still swaying to the beat, but all I could focus on at that moment was how Austin felt behind me and how much I wished that we weren’t surrounded by so many people.

His lips unlatched all too soon and he tugged on my hips. “Let’s go get another drink.”

I waited at a nearby table as he got us two more shots each and then grimaced as I slammed them back, the liquor burning my throat and making my eyes water. Austin watched me with a heated glint in his eyes and the second I licked my lips he grabbed my hand.

“Let’s go,” he growled, heading in the opposite direction of the dance floor.

“Austin, where are we—”

He dragged me out a side door that I wasn’t so sure we were supposed to use, and we ended up in a dark alley between the club and another bar. The music was dulled from out here but I could still hear the steady hum of the people inside. I wobbled slightly on my feet, the alcohol coursing through my body, giving me a slight buzz, and making my head fuzzy.

“What are we doing out here?”

“This.” His lips were on mine, as he pressed my back against the brick wall. I threaded my fingers through his hair as he attacked my mouth. I had never seen this side of Austin before. He was usually so gentle and sweet, loving and caring. This was rough and raw, hot and demanding.

And I loved it.

He pulled up one of my legs and I pushed into him harder as he continued his assault, licking, biting, and sucking. I moaned when his hand roamed underneath the edge of my dress, brushing against my bare thigh before ghosting across my panties that were already damp.

“Austin.” I spoke against his mouth and he pulled back, dropping his lips down to my collarbone. “We can’t do this out here,” I managed to say, groaning when his hand went back to the front of my panties, and then, he started rubbing back and forth across the lacy material. I arched my back into his touch, my body wanting to do the opposite of what my brain was telling me. “Someone will see us,” I whispered, my eyes squeezed shut as his hands trailed along the sides of my legs, sliding my panties down. He bent to scoop them up before nudging my legs open even wider and settling himself between them.

“No one’s out here, Emmy.” He smoothed a piece of hair behind my ear. “But I
need
to fuck you now.”